Roast Chicken in the Crockpot
These plates will be collector’s items someday, right?
I’ve written before about how much my family and I love roast chicken for Sunday dinner, but let’s face it — that’s a lot of work. Over time it went from happening every other week to once a month, and now it’s been several months since I last made one. While the roast chicken and the potatoes and carrots were delicious, just the thought of all the prep work put me off it altogether.
I really started missing it recently because for around $6 I could have the main course for two different dinners. So I started thinking about how to do it in the crockpot. I read several recipes and came to the conclusion that this was the way to go. And they all had one central theme: season it with what you like, and just stick it in the crockpot.
Yogurt was on sale.
This one does require a little bit of prep but only to the point that you need to get it ready the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight:
Mix up about three teaspoons of kosher salt, one teaspoon of black pepper, one teaspoon of paprika, some garlic powder and some onion powder. Sprinkle it over the chicken and then put the chicken in the fridge overnight (it fits perfectly in a gallon-sized Ziploc).
The first time I did all this I put it on the outside of the chicken, wrapped it up in the bag and stuck it in the fridge. More recently I’ve also put some under the skin so we can get a little of the flavor on the part we actually eat (the skin is usually tossed after it’s cooked).
On a fluffy bed of crockpot liner.
The next day, slice up one onion and put it in the bottom of the crockpot, and depending on what I’m planning for sides, I’ll put in some baby carrots and chopped potatoes as well.
Then put the chicken on top and let it cook on low for for 5-6 hours. That’s it. You don’t add any extra liquid, it makes tons on its own (I get about two cups out of it, which I use for gravy).
This chicken comes out incredibly tender and juicy. In fact, I stuck my thermometer in mine when I made it this week and then left the house for several hours. When I got back, the internal temperature had shot way past the 165° I needed it to get to and was sitting close to 200°.
In an oven this would mean you’ve got chicken jerky and will need to figure something else out for dinner. But I switched my crockpot down to the warm setting until everyone was ready for dinner, and it was perfect.
Please make all these reipes printer friendly. Thanks
[Reply]
Heather
September 2nd, 2012 at 10:55 am
Hi Donna, I can’t seem to find one that works just right. Thank you for your patience.
[Reply]